I can?t begin to tell you how excited I am to have found out about this program and this website?
I found it about six weeks ago, ordered the book plus the supplement starter pack and hypno CDs... I live in France (Paris), so it took a couple of weeks to get here... But it finally did, and after having read the book, I began looking for a doctor who would prescribe the topiramate, marketed under the name of "Epitomax" here.
By doing searches for the medication and by looking on French medical blogs, I found that it is quite widely prescribed here for migraine headaches. I decided to phone several psychiatrists in my area but got little to no interest from any of them regarding this medication in relation to the Lancet study. They really didn?t seem to know about it, or be very ?into? new medications, or even know much about alcohol issues.
That?s when I found and made an appointment with a doctor specialized in ?alcohology? (if that even exists in English.. I guess substance abuse would be a more appropriate term). She is also, I found out on the prescription she gave me, an endocrinologist and a diabetologist. Anyway, she was very interested in MWO, said she would order the book, and was willing to prescribe the topiramate. I had called her ahead of time, and had managed to get her email address and had sent her links to the Lancet study as well as the articles in the WSJ and Newsweek. So she said she was open to it, although expressed regret that I had reticence to join a public or traditional group such as AA? Then again, she has never prescribed the topiramate for alcohol addiction? I really plan to be her first success with this program? And I can?t wait to see her again in three weeks and let her know that I?m already feeling better and not craving alcohol anymore the way I was before? I?m so excited about it all.
Anyway? I have started the topiramate today, and don?t feel a whole lot, other than a little bit drowsy? but my question is about the Adrafinil or Modafinil RJ speaks about in the book, which are supposed to help counter some of the cognitive deficits you might be experiencing while on the topiramate. RJ?s reference to this is quite vague in the book. She just says to consider short term use of a ?nootropic? such as one of these two.
From what I understand, these are both some sort of anti depressant? ? My doctor said that she isn?t against prescribing it to me when I return (in just three weeks ? by then I should be up to about 100mgs of the topiramate), but that she just wanted to check it out first because she thought both medications together seemed to be sort of a ?heavy? treatment. I do want to try it if it could help me further in my battle against alcohol craving (I forgot to mention that my problem is binge drinking, and being unable to turn to the ?off? switch once I?ve started, like I?ve read in so many personal accounts on this forum).
I haven?t read a whole lot about Adrafinil/Modafinil on this website, and was wondering if anyone could give me some more info than what is in the book about the effects of Topiramate and one of the latter together, as well as if anyone has any info I could bring to my doctor which would encourage her to prescribe it to me?
I also forgot to mention that it took a day to get the medication at the pharmacy (I had to go to several, and finally went back to my regular drug store), not because of the distributor, but because the manufacturer? a company called JANSSEN-CILAG here in France (I?ll have to look it up to see if it is a subsidiary of the company that makes Topamax in the US)? they can?t keep up with production, apparently! They were all out of 25mg pills. My pharmacy finally managed to get 50mg tablets for me, which I have to break in half? but anyway, maybe this is a sign that the medication is a success and selling really well here in France.
Many Thanks to all who post and tell their stories? This place has been so inspiring to me? I feel like this is the first day of the rest of my life? :thanks:
Christine
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